A pioneer in the real estate industry, Dottie Herman is the vice chair of Douglas Elliman. Under her leadership, Douglas Elliman has become one of the largest real estate brokerage firms in the United States, specializing in residential real estate with a focus on luxury properties. Herman is also a certified financial planner with a specialization in real estate.
Herman considers her success to stem from her capacity for vision and forward thinking. "Everybody tells you that when you have an idea or a business plan, you write the business plan down. I didn't do it that way. I'm a visionary. That's probably one of my best traits," Herman says.
It was this trait that led to one of Herman's most significant achievements. She had a very successful career with Merrill Lynch in the 1990s when the company launched the first national real estate company. She was the regional manager for the Northeast, which included the operations in Boston, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York. Merrill Lynch heavily invested in her, sending her to extensive training programs in recognition of her value to the company. Throughout her career, she attributes her success to the company's investment in her development.
When Merrill Lynch decided to sell the operation to Prudential, Herman saw an opportunity because the latter company was planning to franchise the real estate business. Although she lacked capital, she had the experience and determination to run the business. Despite being just 29 at the time, she ultimately decided to buy all 36 franchises. "I don't take no," she says. "I convinced them to sell to me and I bought 36 offices on Long Island. No money down, because I didn't have any. I didn't even think I had $1,000 in the bank, and I had no personal guarantees. I had nothing to guarantee them, but that's how I started."
Herman purchased Prudential Long Island Realty in 1990 and opened offices in the Hamptons. Under her leadership, the company became a leading brokerage in Long Island and the Hamptons.
"I wanted to be in the Hamptons," she says. "I would see that all the customers were from the city. And I said, 'Robert Moses built bridges to get people from New York to Long Island. I'm going to build a bridge in real estate from Manhattan to Montauk.' I was the first company to build offices from Manhattan all the way out to Montauk. At that time, you were either in the Hamptons, or you were in the city."
This success led to Herman eventually purchasing Douglas Elliman with her business partner, Howard Lorber. As the largest and most prestigious brokerage firm in Manhattan, Douglas Elliman flourished under her leadership. She expanded its presence across New York and established its reputation as a powerhouse in the luxury market. Today, through its alliance with London-based Knight Frank Residential, Douglas Elliman serves global luxury markets in 60 countries across six continents.
Herman has also faced a share of naysayers, despite being recognized as a very successful woman in real estate. If she had listened to every person who told her no, she believes that she never would have achieved what she has in her industry. No matter how many times she faced pushback, she persisted, undaunted by the prospect of failure. However, she also believes that failure is a part of success.
"Anybody successful, I don't care what profession they're in, has failed a million times, gotten back on their feet and gone back to the game again," Herman says.